Toy balloon.



R. HEAD.

TOY BALLOON.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1914.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

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. UNITED srr rE-s PATENT OFFICE,

ROBERT HEAD, or NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO'HOWE BAUMANN BALLoon-c0,,;or

" NEWARK, 'NEW 3' ERSEKQA CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

To all whom it may concern v Beit known that 1, ROBERT HEAD, a citizenof the United States, residing at the city of New York, boroughofManhattan, county and State of New York, have invented a certainnewand'useful Toy Balloon, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is ameans for effectively closing the air'or gas inlet toinflatable containers, such as toy balloons, the bladders of punchingbags, basket balls, footballs,

and various other inflatable devices composed usually of rubber.

The object of the invention'is to provide a closure possessing the afollowing func tions:to securely close the neck or tube immediatelyfollowing the inflation of the container; to retain the inflating mediumwithin said container for an lndefinite t me without appreciable loss ofsaidmedium notwithstanding it is under pressure due to theelastic'nature of the container; easy manipulation of the closure evenby unskilled oper- 3 ators for thepurpose of sealing the inlet as wellaszfor deflating'the container whenever desired; economy .of manufactureof the closure, and facility in assemblage with respect to the neckortube of the container.

Thesalient feature of the invention is a closure positionedexternallyupon the neck or tube of the inflatablecontainer, said closure embodyingrelatively movable members for-compressing the neck or'tube so that'its7 walls'will be forced together and deflected into "an abnormal positionrelative :to the said neck.

In a preferrediform, the closure is comline'of the normal air or gaspassage through posed of sheet metal, one member of which sired,'beexpanded around the mouth piece 1 so that the tubeor neck will-beretained in an expanded conditionfor the purpose of blowing air easilyand freely into the container, the neck ortube being in afreenon' malcondition. After inflating the container, -the operatorsimply pressesthe two TOY YIB'QALLOON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

members together, as aresult 01f which the wall ofthe neck or tubeiscompressed and the gripped part is forced into the pocketPatentedOctlO, 1916.

Application filed June 29, 1914. Serial N 0.841905. a A

of one member by the cooperating part of I the other member, thusholding the neck or tube so tightly that the inflating medium cannotescape.

Other features andadvantages of'the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description. v

In'the drawings, Figure 1 isla perspective view as a toy balloon. Fig. 2is a plan view of the metallic blank prior to bending the same to formthe closure device. Fig. .3 is a per spective view of the closure deviceremoved from the inflatable article. Fig. lis a sectional elevationtaken longitudinally-through the closure device, said figureillustratingthe closure device applied to the neck or tube of theinflatable article andshowing said neck or tube in a compressedcondition so as to preclude the leakage of theinflating medium fromtheblown up container. 7

The closure device of .my invention-embodies cooperating members A B anda mouthpiece C. Said mouthpiece is'pro vided with an opening 0, suitableform and dimensions; as shownin Fig. 3, the mouthpiece is elongated,having parallel sides and rounded endsfbut the shape maybe changed asdesired. I l

1 of. theclosure device applied to the neck or tube of an inflatablecontainer, such and it v .is of an I The members AB are substantiallyflat: I

plates positioned one over the other and JOIHGCl at one end thereof by:the mouth piece. Theomcmber B is curled at one end so as to form apocket D, the latter being open, at the side facing toward member A,

thus producing thethroat (Z. Member A is 7 provided at its free end witha flange E,d e-

pending from said member, the loweredgeof said flange being doubled uponitself and formingan enlargement e, the diameter :of

said enlargement being slightly less thanthe width of the throat oropening d leading to pocket-D.

In the manufacture of my device it is preferred to .produce'it from asinglepiece of suitable material, preferably metal, and 1n Flg. 2 ,therels'shown one form of metal blank whlch is out or stampedat one oper-afltion from sheet metal. vAs showni -n---said Fig. 2, the blank'F embodiesthe mouthpiece C and members A B, the latter being bent or folded onthedotted lines f. It is apparent that the blank can be cut out of sheetmetal by'fa suitable'die at one operation, and sub sequent to. thestamping oi thejblank it is folded on the lines 7 by the same die or bya another independent forming die as desired,-

said folding of the blank resulting in the closure'device'shown'iii-Figs. 1, 3 and A of the drawings. f

In Figs. 1 and Athcre is shown an inflatable container consisting-of abag G, provided with a" necklor tube g,'sa1d bag and its neck beingcomposed of elastic material, such. as rubber. The'bag may be eitheratoy balloon or a'bladde'r, such as are usedxin punching bags, basketballs, foot balls, or any other inflatableobject.

To usemydevice it is opened as shown in Fig. 3' and the neck or tube 9of the inflatable container is slipped between members, A B and throughthe mouthpiece C. It is preferredto stretch'the end portion of the tubeor neck into lapping relation to the mouthpiece substantiallyas shown inFig; 4:, and if desired. the edge portion of the neck or tube may bestretched around the edge of the closure device so as to be retained ini a distended position thereon and to cause the selfon an integral partof the inflatable container. opened position of Fig. 3 the air passageneckflorl tube to retain the closure device it- VVith the members A B inthe through the neck of the tube g is free and thecontainer may beinflated by placing the mouthpiece to the lips and blowing airthroughjthe tube or neck into the container. After thecontainer shallhave been inflated to the desired extent the operator presses themembers A B of the closure device together, asa result of which the tubeor neck is compressed and the flange E deflects the compressed neck ortube into the space of pocket D, whereby the compressed tube or neck isdeflected to an abnormal position by the pressure applied exteriorlythereon due to the pressing together of members A and B. Theelasticmaterialcomposing the neck or tube 9 stretches within the pocketD, and the several parts are held or retained in their closed positionsby the frictional engagehaving shown that the device is eflicient in.

ment ofthe compressed neck with the surfaces of pocket D and the curlededge of flange E. The parts cannot Work loose accidentally owingtothefact that the width of the" throat d is equal substantially to thediameter of the curlededge e of flange E,

and thus the air passage through the tube or neck is securely closed sothat the air will; not leak out or permit the container G.

to become deflated, certain practical tests I precluding deflation ofthe container for severaldays or for an indefinite period oftime. Fromthe foregoing description taken, in

connection with the drawings it is apparent that the closure device maybe manufactured rapidly and economically by simply stamping the samefromsheet metalor other,

equivalent material, and folding said stamped metal into the form shownin Fig.

The device is easily applied'to the tube or neck of the inflatablecontainer, and when so applied .it is retained in operativerela- 1 tionto thecontainer by the engagement of the neck or tube with said closuredevice.

The tube is kept in an open position at the mouth end so that the objectcan be inflated by simply blowing air therein. The device 1s easilyoperated for the purpose of keeping air withinthecontainer, it ;onlybeing necessary to press the parts A B together.

At the same time, the stretched end of the tube or neck can be withdrawnfrom engagement with themouthpiece of the closure device, and thelatterbeing in a' normalopen osition, the tube or neck can be withdrawnrom the container or the neck can be slipped out of the closure device.1

Having thus fully described the invention, whatl claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is: t r

1. The combination of a closure device embodying relatively movablemembers and a' cross member connecting said relatively movable members,said cross member being provided with an opening, and an inflatablearticle providedwith a compressible neck which passes through theopening of the cross member and between said relatively movable members,the end portion of said neck being expandedinto contact with the crossmember and forming a mouth-piece whereby air may be blown into theinflatable article.

2. In a device of the class described, a

closure device embodying a plurality of relatively movable membersand across member connecting said relativelymovable members,- combined withaninflatable article provided with a compressible neck which passesthrough said cross member, said neck being expanded'into contact withsaid cross memher and forming a mouth through which air is adapted to beblown into the inflatable article, and means for locking the relativelyand. means for locking said relativelymov able members upon theadjustment thereof intoposition for compressing the neck of saidinflatable article.

l. In a device of the class described, a closure device embodying aplurality of relatively movable members and a cross member connectingsaid relatively movable members, combined with an inflatable articleprovided with a compressible neck which passes through said crossmember, said neck being expanded into contact with said cross member andforming a mouth through which air is adapted to be blown into theinflatable article, and cooperating locking means adapted for mutualengagement upon the movement of the relatively movable members intocontact with said neck for compressing the latter so as to close theinflatable article against the escape of air.

5. In a device of the class described, a

I closure device embodying a plurality of relatively movable members anda cross member connecting said first named members at one end thereof,one of said first named members being provided with a pocket and theother having a flange positioned to enter said pocket, combined with aninflatable article provided with a neck which passes through the crossmember and the end of which neck 1s expanded 1nto contact with the crossmember.

b. A closure device for inflatable containers composed of a single pieceof material and embodying cooperating members and a mouthpiece, one ofsaid membersbeing provided with a pocket and the other member having aflange positioned opposite to said pocket.

7. A closure device for inflatable containers embodying an openmouthpiece and cooperating members joined at one end thereof by saidmouthpiece, the free end of one member being provided with a pocket andthe corresponding end of the other member having a flange the edge ofwhich is thickened so as to press a neck or tube of said container intocontact with the walls of said pocket.

r In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. ROBERT HEAD. VVitnesses M. C. RODRIGUEZ,

H. 1.. BIERNHARD. I

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

